By Andrew Bansal
September 29th 2013, The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA: In celebration of the release of their sixth studio album ‘Surgical Steel’, their first album after a long 17-year gap, extreme metal legends Carcass took over the Troubadour for two nights to play back-to-back intimate shows, not only to promote this new album but also to recapture an intimate vibe similar to the gigs they played at the Underground in London earlier this year. They hadn’t played at the Troubadour since 1994, and for them to hand-pick this venue for this momentous occasion got the LA Carcass fans hugely excited and the tickets for these shows sold out well in advance, within minutes of going on sale. I got to attend night 2 of this Carcass takeover. Metalheads gathered and lined up outside the venue, patiently waiting and anticipating a special treat.
California grinders Exhumed were chosen as the opening act for these LA shows, and they began their 40-minute set promptly at 9 PM. They pulled out all the stops to entertain this crowd with brand of extreme metal and put on an impressive show. I would go as far as saying that for a fan of this sub-genre, it’s hard not to like Exhumed’s live show. Musically they have all it takes and fulfill all the requisites of a deathgrind band, and their latest studio effort ‘Necrocracy’ has not only proven that but raised the bar a notch or two. At this show, their old and new songs sounded equally powerful and despite the fact that they’ve come through LA quite a few times recently, most of the audience enjoyed themselves during Exhumed’s set. Based on this gig it’s safe to say that this Matt Harvey-led outfit is at the peak of its powers at the moment, and with compelling guitar riffs, solid vocals, well-crafted solos and a relentless rhythm section combined with the shock rock theatrics, Exhumed are one of the coolest, most hard-hitting extreme metal bands going around at present.
Set List:
1. Sickened
2. Necrocracy
3. In the Name of Gore
4. Forged in Fire (Formed in Flame)
5. Coins Upon the Eyes
6. Limb from Limb
7. Dysmorphic
8. All Guts, No Glory
9. As Hammer to Anvil
10.The Rotting
11.Guitar Solo (Bud Burke)
12.The Matter of Splatter
At 10 minutes past 10, the ‘1985’ intro off of the new album started rolling on the PA, and the moment this audience was really waiting for had arrived, as Carcass were ready to hit the stage. The band members took their positions one by one, and as soon as frontman Jeff Walker made it to the center of the stage, this place broke out into pandemonium. Tunes from all six studio albums were played. The new album is the freshest in my memory as I’ve been cranking it non-stop since I got my hands on it. In all honesty, it’s the best album to have come out this year so far, and it was great to hear three tunes off of it, ‘Unfit For Human Consumption’ turning out to be the most enjoyable of the lot. In fact, I was expecting more new songs but for Carcass this show was not merely about the new album, it was about capturing their entire history and using the new album as a launch pad for their next chapter, so the set list made a lot of sense.
There really wasn’t a dull moment in their entire set, but if I had to pick one highlight from among the older songs, it would have to be ‘This Mortal Coil’. That guitar harmony is just brilliant, and to hear it recreated live was a treat unto itself. While Jeff Walker and guitarist Bill Steer were in their finest element with the bass & vocals and guitar respectively, the two younger members of the band Ben Ash on guitar and Daniel Wilding on drums brought a strong tinge of exuberance to the stage and gave these old songs a new life and a new meaning.
As for the crowd’s response, I was actually a bit underwhelmed by the atmosphere inside the Troubadour during Carcass’ set. I expected it to be a lot wilder and crazier. With the kind of music Carcass has put out over the years and having never seen them live before this, I always imagined their shows to have bodies flying everywhere, non-stop mosh pits, banging heads and screaming voices. But strangely, not much of that was seen at the Troubadour last night. It wasn’t by any means an accurate indicator of the band’s performance level, which was incredible. Having said that, I do think that Carcass have greater reserves of firepower hidden inside them, waiting to be unleashed. They sounded excellent last night and this was a fantastic show in every sense, but I have a feeling they are still capable of taking it to a whole another level next time they visit us.
Related: In-depth Interview With Jeff Walker Of Carcass
Set List:
1. Buried Dreams
2. Incarnated Solvent Abuse
3. Carnal Forge
4. No Love Lost
5. Unfit for Human Consumption
6. Edge of Darkness / This Mortal Coil
7. Reek of Putrefaction
8. Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
9. Genital Grinder
10.Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)
11.Exhume to Consume
12.Captive Bolt Pistol
13.Corporal Jigsore Quandary / Forensic Clinicism / The Sanguine Article
14.Ruptured in Purulence / Heartwork
15.Carneous Cacoffiny
16.Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Composition
17.Keep on Rotting in the Free World